Rams News: Cooper Kupp Explains His Biggest Frustration With Other Players
![May 21, 2024, Thousand Oaks, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) wears a Guardian helmet cap during organized team activities at Cal Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports May 21, 2024, Thousand Oaks, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) wears a Guardian helmet cap during organized team activities at Cal Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_8001,h_4500,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/ram_digest/01hyvfy0nwv7vvydq8hb.jpg)
Los Angeles Rams All-Pro wide receiver Copper Kupp is one of the league's best and most hard-working players. As a third-round draft pick from a mid-major school, Kupp had no other choice but to work hard.
Since day one, the 30-year-old has established himself as a primary player for the Rams organization and led the team to new heights.
Kupp has been great throughout his entire seven-year career, and he'll look for a resurgence in 2024. Age is certainly not on his side; however, he looks healthier through the first couple of days of OTAs. Of course, it's his job to get in that type of shape, but only some NFL players, or professional athletes for that matter, are in shape when they need to be. Players not being in shape and ready to go by the season happens to be Kupp's professional pet peeve.
The one-time Pro Bowler appeared on the Games with Names podcast this week, hosted by Julian Edelman. In the podcast, Kupp discussed his pet peeve and how players should be ready for training camp to ensure the best possible product to put on the field.
"There's a responsibility on players to do something in the offseason to prepare yourself to get ready to go," Kupp said. "I just wish that more guys showed up ready to go. I understand this in terms of the the issues between the league and the players and the product needs to be good and there's obviously the union is always going to argue for less work. The league is going to argue for more games. There's a middle ground here where we got to come together and figure out what's the way we put our best product forward."
"There is a responsibility on players to show up ready to work. That's where I think some of this stuff could happen. Where guys in the summer take off. If you don't want to be ready for OTAs, I'm fine with that but the guys that leave all summer, don't do anything all summer, and then show up for training camp that summer. You get five weeks from OTAs to training camp, take your break and then get ready to work because it's in your best interest as a player to show up ready to go. To protect yourself, protect your teammates be ready to put your best foot forward."
Edelman was the first to wrap up the discussion, saying, "It's professional football. Okay. This is professional football, guys."
If there's one thing Kupp is not, it's lazy. You don't become the Super Bowl MVP without putting in the work, and even two seasons removed from that, he's displaying that type of work ethic.
"If you don't show up to training camp ready to go, I have a hard time when guys get hurt or guys do stuff or guys aren't ready or guys are you know getting talked to by coaches about potentially getting released it's like I saw you were in the Caribbean for 3 weeks."
He and fellow pass catcher and sensational rookie Puk Nacua have shown they are in the best shape they could be thus far this offseason.
His work ethic is rubbing off, and it's contagious.
The 2021 All-Pro hopes to have a healthy season after only playing 21 games in the past two seasons and collecting 1,549 yards. 2024 is the year Kupp shows that Father Time is not here just yet.
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